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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The last couple of days it has been raining around here. Ok, not raining. POURING. And our yard floods pretty badly - for instance, when I went to bed last night, you couldn't see any grass in the yard; it was water all the way.

So, this morning the kids wanted to go outside and play. Now, as long as they tell me before they go, I generally have no problem with them going out by themselves (we live in a fairly rural area, back a way from the road); so, when they told me they were going out, the only requirement was that they stay close to (or on) the porch.

After a bit I went to check on them, and apparently the lure of the muddy water was too much for a certain little boy, 'cause this is what I found:

(note: she wasn't 'disobeying' me - she was just 'protecting her brother'. Besides, she had BOOTS on, and when you wear boots in the water you don't get wet. -Her logic, not mine- Of course, that being the case, I guess the inch or so of liquid I poured out of her boots after she took them off wasn't wet? Who knows.)

Unfortunately, he wasn't as well equipped for the water as she - his shoes were soaked (at least they were play shoes), and in some places, the water was nearly up to his knees, so I don't know if boots would have helped or not.

Also, the fire ants were feeling a bit, um, displaced, shall we say, and objected quite fiercely to being sloshed around in the lake - he has bites from his toes to his knees!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is this:

Are you saved?

It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved?

Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?

God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?First, you must realize you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. “For the wages [payment] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.“ . . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “ . . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). “ . . . without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).“ . . . God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.Confess your sins to Him. The Bible assures us that, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9Repent, or turn from your sins. "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..."Acts 2:38“God . . . commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . . .’ ”Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.”

Just pray something like this:

“Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this over and over until you understand it; ask someone to help you. Your soul is worth more than all the world.“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth:

Pray -- you talk to God.

Read your Bible -- God talks to you.

Witness -- you talk for God.

If you have prayed and accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you know that your sins are forgiven, CONGRATULATIONS! You have just made the single most important decision that you will make in your lifetime. You are now a Child of God! Welcome to the family!I encourage you to find a Bible believing church to attend and tell someone what the Lord has done for you.If you need help finding a church, or you want to talk to someone about becoming a Christian, feel free to contact me.

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